Kino Lorber did some great work this year with releases under its Kino Marquee umbrella for virtual screenings, and the 4K restoration of Mephisto was the standout title for me. It features a memorable performance from Klaus Maria Brandauer as a Faust-like character who becomes a puppet for Nazi propaganda while convincing himself that he is still only an actor. His downfall is inevitable, chilling and utterly avoidable, which is his true tragedy.
Number 7 Quai des Orfèvres (1947, dir Henri-Georges Clouzot)
I love Louis Jouvet in this! In fact, I love it all! A bunch of disparate people trying to get back on their feet post-war, with all the intrigue of jealous lovers and the chaos backstage at the music hall theatre. The audience (though not the police) gets the murder confession early on, and then accompanies Jouvet’s Inspector Antoine as he bumbles around Columbo-style trying to work things out. It’s great!
Number 6 Mr. Klein (1976, dir Joseph Losey)
Mubi did a short season looking at the films of Joseph Losey over the summer, so I was able to watch a number of them and I will admit that they turned out to be not generally my cup of tea. However, Mr. Klein is something totally different. With Alain Delon in the title role, the film examines identity and indifference in Nazi-occupied France in 1942. It’s an unsettling reminder of how passivity and arrogance combine to produce unintended complicity in something terrible. The final scene is chilling.
Number 8 Mephisto (1981, dir by István Szabó)
Kino Lorber did some great work this year with releases under its Kino Marquee umbrella for virtual screenings, and the 4K restoration of Mephisto was the standout title for me. It features a memorable performance from Klaus Maria Brandauer as a Faust-like character who becomes a puppet for Nazi propaganda while convincing himself that he is still only an actor. His downfall is inevitable, chilling and utterly avoidable, which is his true tragedy.
Number 7 Quai des Orfèvres (1947, dir Henri-Georges Clouzot)
I love Louis Jouvet in this! In fact, I love it all! A bunch of disparate people trying to get back on their feet post-war, with all the intrigue of jealous lovers and the chaos backstage at the music hall theatre. The audience (though not the police) gets the murder confession early on, and then accompanies Jouvet’s Inspector Antoine as he bumbles around Columbo-style trying to work things out. It’s great!
Number 6 Mr. Klein (1976, dir Joseph Losey)
Mubi did a short season looking at the films of Joseph Losey over the summer, so I was able to watch a number of them and I will admit that they turned out to be not generally my cup of tea. However, Mr. Klein is something totally different. With Alain Delon in the title role, the film examines identity and indifference in Nazi-occupied France in 1942. It’s an unsettling reminder of how passivity and arrogance combine to produce unintended complicity in something terrible. The final scene is chilling.
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